Conventional safety match packs are typically constructed with a cover envelope to provide protection against ignition of matches remaining in the pack by the ignition of a removed match on a phosphorus ignition surface which is usually located on the retaining flap of the match pack cover. In some conventional match pack constructions the ignition surface, instead of being located on the retaining flap, is positioned on the bottom portion of the front cover flap which is relatively flexible in its open position to make it difficult to ignite a match when the cover flap is in an open position. Because of the relatively small amount of pressure required to ignite a match, however, ignition can still be accomplished without closing the cover flap. This safety measure therefore does not provide an adequate safeguard against injury or damage.
Various safety measures have been heretofore proposed for safety match packs to improve protection against injury or damage. Examples of such measures are described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,102,580 issued to R. F. Mahon on Dec. 14, 1937, U.S. Pat. No. 2,105,141 issued to H. B. Eastman on Jan. 11, 1938, U.S. Pat. No. 2,118,726 issued to E. D. Edwards on May 24, 1938, U.S. Pat. No. 2,277,021 issued to H. F. Swain on Mar. 17, 1942, U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,920 issued to C. Hill on Dec. 9, 1952, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,690,449 issued to M. Seldin on Sept. 12, 1972.
None of the match book constructions disclosed in the foregoing patents provides a combination of three major, very important safety features described below.
The most important of these three safety features is protection of small children from burns inflicted while playing with matches. Any of the foregoing prior constructions permit a small child to ignite a match mainly because the matches and the ignition surface are exposed and easily accessible.
The second safety feature is protection against an explosive type of ignition or burning of the match rather than a slow and even burning of the match. Such an explosive type ignition or burning is usually caused, when for one reason or another, the matches become wet or damp at some time and then dry leaving the match heads brittle. The irregular or explosive-like burning usually takes place at the initial ignition phase of combustion when a person using the match pack just begins to draw the match head across the ignition surface. Under such conditions persons are frequently burned by flaming particles flying from the match head. Additionally, damage to clothing or other nearby objects frequently occurs under such conditions.
The third safety feature which prior art constructions usually address is to keep the balance of the matches in the pack from igniting accidentally when a purposeful ignition of a removed match is being carried out.
Prior to this invention, no known safety match pack incorporated a combination of foregoing safety features described above. Hence, known prior art match packs demonstrate a desperate need for a match pack which alleviates the dangerous conditions mentioned above.